LENGTHY RAP SHEET, INCLUDING SEVERAL TIMES WITH A SUSPENDED LICENSE. IF YOU KNOW WHERE HE IS, CALL FLORIDA HIGHWAY PATROL AND LET THEM KNOW. IT IS NO JOKE. POINTING A LASER AT AN AIRCRAFT IS A FELONY AND NOW A TEEN HAS LEARNED THE LESSON A HARD WAY. CHECK THIS OUT. SEE THAT GREEN DOT? IT'S THE WHOLE REASON THE TEEN IS IN BIG TROUBLE TONIGHT WHEN THE SEMINOLE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE CHOPPER CHANGES THE VIDEO TO INFRARED. IT WAS ALL BECAUSE HE WAS SHINING A LASER POINTER RIGHT AT THE THING. IT HAPPENED SATURDAY AT THE HOME IN LONGWOOD. KALA RAMA IS LIVE IN SANFORD FOR US RIGHT NOW. YOU SPOKE WITH THE PILOT. WHY IS THIS SO DANGEROUS? WELL, I HAVE A LASER RIGHT HERE. IT'S A CHEAP ONE YOU BUY FOR PRESENTATIONS, RIGHT? SO IN THE DAY IT'S NOT SO STRONG WHEN THE LIGHT IS SO BRIGHT. THE BUT WHEN IT GETS DARK OUT AND YOU'RE WEARING NIGHT VISION GOGGLES, IT'S THE PROBLEM AND PILOTS SAY IT CAN CAUSE BLINDNESS AND BLURRED VISION. IN THIS CASE THEY WERE FLYING 800 FEET HIGH. SOMEBODY HAD A CALL REFERENCE THAT SOMEONE WAS GETTING SHINED WITH A LASER. THE TEEN BEHIND THE WHITE FLASHES COULD FACE FEDERAL CHARGES. IT ONLY TOOK DEPUTIES A FEW MINUTES TO CATCH THE 19-YEAR-OLD. THIS IS THE VIDEO FROM THE COCKPIT. THE PILOT WAS ABLE TO PINPOINT THE LOCATION OF THE LASER TO THIS LONGWOOD HOME. THE SEMINOLE COUNTY CHOPPER'S NIGHT VISION CAMERA SHOWS THE MAN IN A SWIMSUIT, NO SHIRT ON, STANDING ON THE BACK PATIO BY THE POOL POINTING THE LASER AT A HELICOPTER A NUMBER OF TIMES AND TAKES OFF RUNNING AT THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE. HE'S LASERING US AND GOING BACK AND FORTH TO THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE. THE PILOT EXPLAINS HOW DANGEROUS IT IS WHEN THEY'RE FLYING. YOU CAN IMAGINE IF THE LASER HITS HERE, THIS WHOLE UNIT AMPLIFIES THE AMBIENT LIGHT OR IF THE LIGHT SHINES INTO IT, IT TOTALLY CUTS OUT. THE PILOT SAYS IT CAN CAUSE BLINDNESS, BLURRED VISION OR MAKE THE ENTIRE CREW DISORIENTED. HE SAID HE DIDN'T HAVE A GOOD EXPLANATION. YOU CAN SEE IN THE VIDEO HE WAS RUNNING AROUND AND CONTINUED TO SHINE THE LASER BEAM AT THE HELICOPTER. HE DID BOND OUT OF JAIL BUT NO ONE CAME TO THE DOOR AT HIS HOME WHERE IT ALL STARTED. NOW OUT HERE AT THE SANFORD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, WE'VE SEEN A NUMBER OF COMMERCIAL FLIGHTS TAKE OFF HERE. WE CHECKED IN WITH THE F.A.A. WHO CALLED THE INCIDENTS LATELY AN EPIDEMIC AND SAYS IT'S GROWN OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS. WE CHECKED WITH STAFF AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE MORE COMING UP AT 6:00. WE'RE HEARING A LOT MORE ABOUT THIS LATELY. THE F.B.I. EVEN TALKED ABOUT RAISING AWARENESS ON HOW DANGEROUS THE LASERS CAN BE. IS THIS CASE POSSIBLY GOING TO REACH THE FEDERAL LEVEL? WELL, SEMINOLE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE SAID TODAY THEY DID ALERT THE F.A.A. AND THE F.A.A. TELLS ME THEY ARE INVESTIGATING AND THE F.B.I. HAS BEEN ALERTED ALSO. THE F.A.A. CAN ACTUALLY IMPOSE A $10,000 CIVIL FINE ON THE SUSPECT HERE AND THE F.B.I. CAN ACTUALLY PURSUE FEDERAL CHARGES. NO WORD YET IF THEY WILL BE

LONGWOOD, Fla. -

A 19-year-old Seminole County man was arrested on allegations of pointing a laser light at a sheriff's helicopter.

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According to the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, shortly before midnight, the sheriff's helicopter, Alert 2, was on patrol over Interstate 4 and E.E. Williamson Road at 800 feet, when the flight crew reported a green laser light flashed through the cockpit.

The helicopter used infrared to direct deputies to a home on Deer View Place, where Ragno was located outside, officials said. Ragno was arrested and taken to jail.

"Shining a light into an aircraft creates a glare on the windscreen and generates a temporary flash of blindness, similar to a camera flash," the Seminole County Sheriff's Office said. "It is highly dangerous for pilots and flight crew who can experience blurred vision or become disoriented. At the time of Saturday night’s laser strikes, Alert 2 was flying at approximately 800 feet."

The FBI and FAA were notified of the incident. The FAA is investigating and can impose civil penalties of up to $10,000. The FBI could file federal charges for pointing a laser into the cockpit of an aircraft.

Ragno posted a $1,100 bond Sunday morning and was released.

Officials said in Seminole County alone there have been five incidents of lasers being pointed at pilots, all leading to arrests.

"If the laser beam goes directly into the night vision and amplifies the eye it can create permanent damage and ruin the night vision goggles that are very expensive," said Pilot Steve Farris.

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